


Competition and Order in "Sex and Violence"

by yourlibrarian



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Competition, Episode: s04e14 Sex and Violence, Gen, Meta, Sibling Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-07 06:22:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6789925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourlibrarian/pseuds/yourlibrarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I was thinking of that moment in Sex and Violence when Dean is sure that Sam has "c-blocked" him -- it was kind of telling, wasn't it? Until Dean realized Meg was evil, for example, he was completely in favor of Sam pursuing her. But the issue of women speaks to how competition seems to work between the Winchesters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Competition and Order in "Sex and Violence"

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on June 4, 2009

I was thinking of that moment in Sex and Violence when Dean is sure that Sam has "c-blocked" him -- it was kind of telling, wasn't it? Until Dean realized Meg was evil, for example, he was completely in favor of Sam pursuing her. In fact, at the end when they think she's dead, he comments to Sam that he should look for a girl who wasn't buckets of crazy, rather than one who was, y'know, _possessed_. Of course their whole knowledge of demons seemed really shaky that season. They obviously see a demon possession in Phantom Traveller, and already know how to exorcise one, but they're unaware in Devil's Trap that Dean was hurting a real person's body? Did they just think Meg was human at the end of Shadows?

Anyway, the point is, there's been a succession of women Sam's been somewhat involved with, and in each case in canon Dean was really cheering him on, pushing him even. Obviously this didn't apply to Ruby. But in SaV not only is Dean not all "Go, Sammy!" regarding Cara, he's so dense as not to realize Cara's interested in Sam. And since, other than Cara, we haven't had anyone doing this all season, and he wants Sam away from Ruby, wouldn't Dean be ready to push Sam at her, especially since this is before they know they're after a Siren? 

There didn't seem to be anyone after Sam in S3, other than Gert, which Dean teases him about, but not in any kind of serious way. For the moments before they find out they've been robbed, Dean is urging Sam to go after Bela, even as he's surprised that she's showing an interest in him. But maybe we see hints of Dean's later behavior in Long Distance Caller when he jabs at Sam about going to see jailbait. Given that it's actually Dean who'd be perfectly willing to go for someone who's just crossed the jailbait line, it's a rather strange accusation. And it really says more about Dean than Sam, and his feelings of abandonment and panic at that time. 

In SaV, even though later in the episode it's Sam who comes out with clear statements of competitiveness, it seems to me that Dean has already been feeling this edge. Dean is not used to Sam competing with him, at least in any kind of direct way. Even though competition is at the heart of a sibling relationship, we have not seen, in the flashbacks, any real sense of it between them. We have seen Dean's caretaking in each one and Sam, however reluctantly, following Dean's lead. We have seen a sense of competition in the prank wars, although I suspect that those were few and far between in childhood. My reason? In Tall Tales, neither Sam nor Dean immediately leaps to the conclusion that one is pranking the other. They wind up fighting, not playing a game, even though it really _is_ part of a prank war, just one against both of them by the Trickster.

So my feeling is that given Dean's caretaking duties and their noticeable divide in age as they were growing up, that both developed rather different spheres of influence early on, and that Sam has basically followed Dean's lead in most things because that was always _his_ job. In Heart when we do see Sam and Dean briefly competing over Madison (so that we get our famous Rock-Paper-Scissors moment), Dean lays claim to her by virtue of being older –- something he does in other arguments they have. It's almost as if their struggles have revolved around maintaining order rather than seeing who was achieving something. Of course, given who actually ruled the roost, I suspect there were fewer reasons for Sam and Dean to struggle with one another than to position themselves vis-a-vis John. So I can't help wondering if part of what's bothering Dean all through SaV, if not throughout the whole season, is that he's feeling a direct sense of competition with Sam that he's never felt before. In Lazarus Dean claims that the smarter brother is now back in town to handle things. He may have been joking, but it also set the tone for his expectation that Sam should fall in line as he's always done. 

Of course at the end of SaV Dean does make a peace offering, asking if Sam wants to see Cara again. Although he then suggests Sam is changing, by loving and leaving, really Sam hasn't made any attempt to attach himself to a woman since Jess. Perhaps he would have liked to do so with Madison, but it seems to me he mostly just wanted to help her. Had she been cured, he might no more have stayed in touch with her than he did with Sarah. With Cara, Dean seems to be projecting just as much as he was back in Long Distance Caller. Sam's right that Dean doesn't trust him, but mostly what he doesn't trust is that Sam will keep the family order as it always has been.


End file.
